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The Tariff of 1828, dubbed the "Tariff of Abominations" by Southerners, imposed high taxes on imports to benefit Northern manufacturing. While the North prospered, the South, reliant on foreign goods, feared Britain would buy less cotton due to these tariffs. This led John C. Calhoun to advocate for states' rights and nullification, intensifying North-South tensions and setting the stage for the Nullification Crisis.
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Vice President John C. Calhoun wrote South Carolina Exposition and Protest, which posited that the states could and should nullify federal laws that they judged unconstitutional. Calhoun argued that nullification would be a protection intermediate between the states and the federal government for suppression by the federal government of the rights of the southern states. He was reacting against the Tariffs of 1828 that benefitted only Northerners while harming the South.
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Senators Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Robert Hayne of South Carolina debated states' rights versus national authority in a famous debate between them in 1830. Hayne endorsed nullification, which meant that states could nullify federal laws if they believed them to be unconstitutional. Webster defended the Union, making a forceful argument that liberty and union had to be inseparable. The debate underscored the growing sectional divisions and foreshadowed the crisis
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South Carolina adopted the Ordinance of Nullification, declaring both the Tariff of 1828 and the Tariff of 1832 null and void within its borders. The state threatened to secede from the Union if the federal government tried to enforce these tariffs. This bold move directly challenged federal authority and brought the Union to the brink of crisis.
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Congress established the Tariff of 1832 in an attempt to calm the hard feeling created by the Tariff of Abominations of 1828. The Tariff of 1832, while lowering some duties, did not satisfy many Southerners, especially in South Carolina, who believed the tariff still violated their sovereignty and was causing undue harm to their economy while the North was benefitting. If the Tariff of 1832 sought to resolve the conflict, it failed. Rather, the Tariff of 1832 increased Southern rage.
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President Andrew Jackson responded firmly to South Carolina’s actions with his “Proclamation to the People of South Carolina” on December 10, 1832. He denounced nullification as unconstitutional and dangerous, warning that disunion would be considered treason. Jackson made it clear that he was prepared to use force to preserve the Union, showing his strong nationalist stance.
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Henry Clay, known as the “Great Compromiser,” introduced the Compromise Tariff of 1833 to calm tensions. It gradually reduced tariff rates over a ten-year period, giving Southern states some relief while still protecting Northern industries. This compromise helped defuse the immediate crisis and prevented South Carolina from carrying out its threat of secession.